The upadhi and the adhistana – brahman is an the underneath layer confusion

I am a person, with a body and a mind. This is to be understood as an upadhi.

One has to clearly understand the nature of an upadhi as well as the nature of the adhistAnam atma.

We have to be clear, when examples are used. Usually example of a pot and clay, or a jewel and gold are used.

Here sometimes people confuse thinking that the adhistanam of an upadhi is like a substance, like a substance of a pot is clay. Clay is not an underneath layer of pot. Someone did not take the clay and changed the shape of the clay to make it a pot. The clay was in the form of a lump and was shaped to a pot.

From point of view of clay, clay is alone there. Clay does not acknowledge, name or form or function. As far as clay is concerned there is no change in form etc.

Clay as a lump is clay. Clay as a pot is clay. Pot is broken, clay becomes clay fragments, it still remains clay. As far as clay is concerned it is never subject to any change at all.

This is a pramana vakya that clarifies the meaning which is attributed to be the nature of the adhistAnam atma. We take the required meaning from the clay pot example.

Atma has never undergone any change, nor is it even subject to change. Even to call atma ‘changeless’ is talking from the standpoint of change alone.

That atma is oneself.

If that atma is oneself, then how do you place the upAdhi.

What is the relationship of the upadhi, the body mind upadhi w.r.t the adhistAnam.

The relationship is satyam and mithya. Satyam is independent of mithya.

Mithya depends on satyam for its existence. All the way  it depends on satyam.  In fact knowing satyam, satyam alone exists.

Hence mithya cannot be said to be non-existent, and cannot be said to have any existence of its own as its existence is brahman.

So this individual , aham, I , while is looked upon as a person, with a body mind, if the truth is known cannot be looked upon as anything but atma. In fact whatever you look upon is the atma, the looker is atma, what is looked upon is atma, this knower known duality is mithya and atma is satyam. So atma transcends duality , is non dual, it is both imminent in duality as well as at the same time, transcends the duality, as the atma never underwent any change, neither it can change, in fact the word change doesn’t exist in its dictionary, the word changeless itself it is said to be is only a lakshanam, a lakshyArtha, a definition used to point to the nature of the vastu. That vastu is yourself. You are self evident, so you are not subject to anything.

How do we know all these, how these are figured out? Its not figured out by human mind, it is known through shastra pramana, and independent means of knowledge.

In fact there is a question all of us may have, what is the use of all this Vedanta. The answer is very simple, we all want to be something, to become someone, to be something that we want to be. You have a problem, centered around yourself, or centered around someone you value, something you value, you have a problem about it, which makes you unhappy, so you seek a solution, ultimately to make you happy about that.

What vedanta offers it says, whatever that is , that you want to be, a fulfilled person, in all respects, in all situations, that you are already, without doing anything, no matter what happens, or doesn’t happen, whether you do anything or don’t do anything, whatever may be the case, “ you are what you want to be” . This is not known, but those who want to know can know, a means of knowledge is available, it can be made use of.

So even those looking for a practical benefit, this knowledge gives you the freedom to act freely and do what must be done with no hesitation.